If you saw my last post<\/a>, you’ll recall my talk about adding mixed numerals. We covered the more difficult way last time; now we’ll do the easier way.<\/p>\n Example: add 32<\/span><\/sup>\u20445<\/span><\/sub> + 46<\/span><\/sup>\u20447<\/span><\/sub><\/p>\n Step 1: Convert the mixed numerals to improper fractions.<\/p>\n Recall that to do so, you multiply the whole number by the denominator, add the numerator, then put the answer over top the same denominator:<\/p>\n 3 2\/5 = (3×5+2)\/5 = 17\/5<\/p>\n Similarly,<\/p>\n 4 6\/7 = 34\/7<\/p>\n Our problem is now transformed into<\/p>\n 17\/5 + 34\/7<\/p>\n Step 2: Add the improper fractions.<\/p>\n As always when adding fractions, we need common denominators.<\/p>\n (17×7)\/(5×7) + (34×5)\/(7×5) = 119\/35 + 170\/35 = 289\/35<\/p>\n Step 3: We would reduce if 289 and 35 shared a common factor, but they do not. If desired, we can put the answer back into a mixed numeral. We divide 289 by 35 to get 8 remainder 9. 8 becomes the whole number part of the mixed numeral, while 9 goes back over 35:<\/p>\n 289\/35 = 8 9\/35<\/p>\n A few points:<\/p>\n 1) Although this method is more straightforward than the previous one<\/a>, it does lead to handling bigger numbers. If big numbers bother you, you’ll likely prefer the previous method.<\/p>\n 2) From grade 11 on, you rarely see mixed numerals in academic math; improper fractions are preferred. However, trades math continues to prefer mixed numerals.<\/p>\n 3) If a question was posed in mixed numeral form, you are likely expected to give your final answer as a mixed numeral if possible.<\/p>\n I’ll be covering other operations with mixed numerals in future posts.<\/p>\n